Gothic Literature

August 19, 2020

Gothic Books have been around since the late 18th century, but they've never quite gone out of style. They are like a trapdoor to medieval times.

This irrestible genre, tend to stretch from the darkest depths to the light and virtue of the heavens. So trust me, you don't want to miss this list out. The only thing you have to do is choose which one you want to bury your nose in first.

Enjoy!

1 The Tell-Tale Heart

The Tell-Tale Heart

Edgar Allan Poe | Short Stories Classics

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"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by cutting it into pieces and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately the narrator's guilt manifests itself in the hallucination that the man's heart is still beating under the floorboards. It is unclear what relationship, if any, the old man and his murderer share. It has been suggested that the old man is a father figure or, perhaps, that his vulture eye represents some sort of veiled secret. The ambiguity and lack of details about the two main characters stand in stark contrast to the specific plot details leading up to the murder...

2 The picture of Dorian Gray

The picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde. | Humanities and Arts

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he Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine. Wilde later revised this edition, making several alterations, and adding new chapters; the amended version was published by Ward, Lock, and Company in April 1891. The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view.

3 The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1

Edgar Allan Poe | Poetry Classics

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The Classic book The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe. Stories include: Edgar Allan Poe, Death Of Edgar A. Poe, The Unparalleled Adventures Of One Hans Pfaall, The Gold-bug, Four Beasts In One—the Homo-cameleopard, The Murders In The Rue Morgue, The Mystery Of Marie Roget, The Balloon-hoax, Ms. Found In A Bottle, and The Oval Portrait

4 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson. | Psychology & Culture

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Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the original title of a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. The original pronunciation of Jekyll was "Jeekul" which was the pronunciation used in Stevenson's native Scotland. The work is commonly known today as The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or simply Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.[1] It is about a London lawyer named John Gabriel Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll,[2] and the misanthropic Edward Hyde. The work is commonly associated with the rare mental condition often spuriously called "split personality", wherein within the same person there are at least two distinct personalities. In this case, the two personalities in Dr Jekyll are...

5 The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera

Gaston Leroux | Horror Classics

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A disfigures musical genius haunts the catacombs under the Paris Opera and terrifies the community until he falls in love with Christine, a budding young singer.

6 The Woman in White

The Woman in White

Wilkie Collins | Mystery Classics

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Walter Hartright encounters a mysterious woman dressed entirely in white, whom he later discovers escaped from an insane asylum.

7 Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen | Fiction Classics

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The classic book, Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen.

8 Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley | Sci-Fi Classics

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A scientist creates a monster with pieces of corpses, but the monster develops a mind of his own begins to despise his creator.

9 Dracula

Dracula

Bram Stoker | Horror Classics

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Count Dracula is a vampire who terrifies the countryside in his quest for human blood, but the residents soon learn his real identity and vow to destroy him.

10 Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte | Fiction Classics

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A servant in the house at Wuthering Heights reveals the historic story of the love affair between Catherine and Heathcliff to a visitor who is currently staying there.

11 Carmilla

Carmilla

Sheridan Le Fanu | Horror Classics

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Lonely Laura is thrilled when she becomes friends with Carmilla, a mysterious stranger in this Gothic vampire tale.

12 Wieland or the Transformation

Wieland or the Transformation

Charles Brockden Brown | Horror Classics

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In this Gothic thriller, American novelist Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810), tells the tale of a man beset by religious guilt that erupts into mania, making him an extreme danger to others. Download it now!

13 Phantoms: A Collection of Dark Poetry and Fiction

Phantoms: A Collection of Dark Poetry and Fiction

Kelvin Bueckert | Horror-Gothic

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What was that? That noise out there in the hallway? That high pitched singing...do you hear it? It's coming closer. I don't know. Should we take a look? Hmmm...Perhaps some things are better left buried...then again...perhaps those things are the most interesting...What will we see as I pull open the door and peer out into that darkened hallway? Who knows. What we do know is that Phantoms is a collection of previously published science fiction, fantasy, and horror themed poetry. The first person tales, Devil in a Bottle, Personal Judas, Ol’Zeke and Flirting With the Enemy are also included. With that said, let's open that door, shall we? I mean, what could go wrong?

14 Wicked John: A Victorian Mysterie

Wicked John: A Victorian Mysterie

Joseph R. Doze | Horror-Gothic

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In private detective Clayton Lane's world, the glass is always half-empty, and it's usually half empty of cheap whiskey. When a timid little man walks into Lane's office hoping to find his runaway wife, Clayton assumes it will be much of the same old thing; a wife hitting the sheets with another man and a brokenhearted husband left behind. What he wasn't ready for was a case that kept going further down the rabbit hole. What started as a simple case leads Clayton into a world of prostitution, sapphic trysts, drugs, and the Montreal Mafia culminating in a tangled web of deceit and political intrigue. Join Clayton Lane, P.I. as he navigates the dangerous streets of 1950's Albuquerque and tries to untangle the web of lies and find the truth that lies atop the Ivory Tower.

15 Jolimont Street Ghost

Jolimont Street Ghost

Jeremy Tyrrell | Horror-Gothic

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From the events this past autumn, I am compelled to relate my perilous trial. The supposition that darkness is merely the absence of light is both popular and false, as those who practice the occult can affirm. In the dark cellar of number thirteen Jolimont Street, a house the Professor had assumed benign, I unwittingly brought forth an ancient evil that first threatened our reputations, then our souls. This is the fourth book in the Paranormology Series.

16 Grosvenor Lane Ghost

Grosvenor Lane Ghost

Jeremy Tyrrell | Horror-Gothic

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As the Professor's assistant, it was my duty to perform whatever tasks he laid out for me. It was a simple enough arrangement, until he took me on my first investigation at a run-down house in South Entrance. The house at Grosvenor Lane showed me a brief glimpse of the world beyond, a world that exists with or without my blessing. But my investigations also revealed that the application of science to an ethereal plane is anything but straightforward.

17 Tales Of An Enchanted Twelve

Tales Of An Enchanted Twelve

H.L. Dowless | Horror-Gothic

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This work is a collection of horror stories for ages 12 to 112. Read at your own risk. A print version may be purchased online at The Book Patch.

18 The Monk

The Monk

Matthew Lewis | Horror Classics

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Ambrosio, a monk, succumbs to the temptations of the young, Antonia.

19 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Victor Hugo | Fiction Classics

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The story of Quasimodo, the hunchback bellringer of Notre-Dame cathedral and his devotion to the beautiful gypsy dancer Esmeralda. When the demented archdeacon Frollo sets out to abduct Esmeralda, he uses Quasimodo to do the evil deed on his behalf. However, Quasimodo turns from captor to saviour.

20 The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw

Henry James | Horror Classics

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By 19th Century American realist, Henry James. The story about an innocent, impressionable young governess who takes over the education of two delightful children, Flora and Miles, at an isolated country estate. Download it today!

21 The Mysteries of Udolpho

The Mysteries of Udolpho

Ann Radcliffe | Horror Classics

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Emily St. Albert tries to withstand her father's death, life in a shadowy castle, and the predatory demands of the evil Count Montoni.

22 The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | Fiction

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Excellent classic! Download it today!

23 The House of the Seven Gables

The House of the Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne | Horror Classics

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This FREE e-Book is an intense psychological drama devoted to the burden of inherited guilt and the work of retribution. In traditional Hawthorne style, the greatest sin is the violation of the integrity of another person's soul. Download it today!

24 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving | Sci-Fi Classics

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The classic work of Irving

25 Villette

Villette

Charlotte Bronte | Romance Classics

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With no family or money, Lucy moves to France and becomes a teacher at a school for girls where she finds love and independence.

26 The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka | Short Stories Classics

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The Classic book The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. First published in 1915 this novella is widely considered one of the most important short stories of the century and one of Kafka’s best. Gregor Samsa awakes one day only to find out he’s now a huge insect. The story follows as Gregor struggles to adjust this transformation. Many different interpretations of this story has created lots of exciting discussions over the years.

27 The Canterville Ghost

The Canterville Ghost

Oscar Wilde | Short Stories Classics

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The Canterville Ghost is a popular 1887 novella by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. “The Canterville Ghost” is a parody featuring a dramatic spirit named Sir Simon and the United States minister (ambassador) to the Court of St. James's, Hiram B. Otis. Mr. Otis travels to England with his family and moves into a haunted country house. Lord Canterville, the previous owner of the house, warns Mr. Otis that the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville has haunted it ever since he killed his wife, Eleonore, three centuries before. But Mr. Otis dismisses the ghost story as bunk and disregards Lord Canterville’s warnings. When the Otises learn that the house is indeed haunted, they succeed in victimizing the ghost and in disregarding age-old British traditions. What emerges is...

28 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Anne Brontë | Romance Classics

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The classic book, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Brontë.

29 The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Charles Dickens | Mystery Classics

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This story is a murder mystery in which Edwin Drood is supposedly murdered and suspicion is cast on his uncle.

30 The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas | Fiction Classics

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Edmond Dantes is imprisoned on a false political charge. He makes a daring escape, finds the treasure of Monte Cristo, and seeks revenge upon his enemies.

31 The Moonstone

The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins | Mystery Classics

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Franklin Blake gives his beloved, Rachel Verinder a moonstone gem which soon disappears, but Franklin resolves to solve the mystery of the missing gem.

32 Les Miserables

Les Miserables

Victor Hugo | Fiction Classics

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Ex-convict Jean-Valjean struggles to find redemption after his release for a 19 year prison sentence for stealing food for his starving family.

33 The History of Caliph Vathek

The History of Caliph Vathek

William Beckford | Horror Classics

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The descriptions of Vathek's palaces and diversions, and of his scheming sorceress-mother Carathis and her witch-tower, are triumphs of weird coloring that raise this literary work to a permanent place in English letters. Download it today!

34 The Bride of Lammermoor

The Bride of Lammermoor

Walter Scott | Romance Classics

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Trouble ensues when young Lucy Ashtom falls in love with Edgar Ravenswood, a member of a rival family

35 At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness

Howard Phillips Lovecraft | Humanities and Arts

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At the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories. It has been reproduced in numerous collections since Lovecraft's death. Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi describes the novella as representing the decisive "demythology" of the Cthulhu Mythos by reinterpreting Lovecraft's earlier supernatural stories in a science fiction paradigm.

36 The Raven

The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe | Short Stories Classics

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"The Raven" is a narrative poem by the American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe. It was published for the first time on January 29, 1845, in the New York Evening Mirror. Noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere, it tells of the mysterious visit of a talking raven to a distraught lover, tracing his slow descent into madness.